The Pirate Saga: And So It Ends #bitcoin #pirate #default #ponzi

The first shock to BST came on August 14, when Pirate lowered the maximum interest rate on his accounts from 7% to 5%4 . Whether the scheme was legitimate or not, it was clear to everyone that an effective interest rate of 3313% was unsustainable and Pirate would have to reduce interest rates at some point. And, at some point this summer, the time finally came. At first, Pirate tried to continue his prior rate of growth and keep attracting new investors by attempting to increase investors’ confidence in himself; he announced on July 25 that he, under a newly disclosed supposed real name of “Trendon Shavers”, would be attending Defcon in person on July 27-29, and invited investors and curious Bitcoin users in general to meet him in public – “look at a pirate, eye to eye if you dare”, the forum thread read. There have been no confirmed reports that anyone actually saw Pirate...